Houses lost in Crib Point fire which sprang up without warning

Liam Mannix, Beau Donelly, Adam Carey

One house has been lost and another seriously damaged by an out-of-control bushfire that threatened a coastal town on the Mornington Peninsula.

A fast-moving grassfire sprung up near the Crib Point refinery just before 4.30pm, taking firefighters and local residents by surprise. Fanned by strong winds and high tempratures the flames quickly burned through grass and scrub south toward the township of Crib Point.

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Fire springs up without warning at Crib Point

At least one house was destroyed after a grassfire suddenly sprang up near Crib Point on Monday afternoon. Courtesy ABC News 24.

Residents were told it was too late to leave and to take immediate cover as the bushfire threatened the township. The fire came within 100 metres of homes before a wind change a little after 5pm reversed the fire's direction, pushing it north back onto itself.

While that saved houses in Crib Point, the wind change pushed the blaze onto a small densley-forested pocket of houses north of the fire on the foreshore. Despite firefighters best attempts one house was lost here with another seriously damaged.

The CFA used more than 20 trucks and water bombers to defend the densely-packed suburban streets. At 8pm, firefighters continued to battle the blaze, but cool weather and the fact the wind change pushed the fire up to the beach allowed the CFA to get on top of the blaze.

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Terri Bemelen, who lives a few hundred metres from where the fire tore through Crib Point, said she was "too scared" to evacuate.

"My husband and son climbed onto the roof and said there was a fire and I thought they were joking. Then I saw the big black clouds," she said.

"I was too scared to leave. Then people started calling and saying not to go because the traffic was jammed. You couldn't get out anyway."

Ms Bemelen, who has lived in Crib Point for 16 years and runs the local general store, said this was the worst fire the community had seen.

Photo by Jesse Marlow.

She said she had heard that one of her customers had lost his house in the blaze.

"He has a family," she said. "I heard the house is gone... it's really upsetting me."

"I'm getting out of here," she said. "I've told the firies that if the house catches fire, let it burn."

Photo: Keith Pakenham AFSM CFA

Ms Goninon is being cautious, heading to a friend's place further away from the fire while others stay home. But she has lived here 30 years and seen bad fires before and says it is possible it could reach this street.

"I wouldn't be surprised," she says. "There are still people down there drinking away and thinking they'll be safe, but I don't think they've been through a fire here before."

Manjit Singh, manager of the United Petroleum petrol station in Crib Point, said many residents evacuated Crib Point immediately after the CFRA warning.